The Riddler
: “''I'm the sharpest mind you'll ever meet. The original genius with Gotham at my feet. Who am I?” : ― The Riddler '''The Riddler' was the alias of a criminal that operated in Gotham City. One of the first so-called "supervillains" to operate in the city, he terrorized its citizens during the time Thomas Wayne and Carmine Falcone controlled the city. Eventually disappearing, he returned after hearing rumors about the vigilante Batman and the fall of crime following the Children of Arkham's attack. Biography Not much is known about the Riddler at this moment in time, but he claims to have been a victim of the Agency, a government organization with multiple complaints about unethical operations, claiming his tendencies, such as narcissism and multiple obsessive compulsive personality disorders, had surfaced around the time he was abused. It is unknown whether these were true, though is likely to be. According to Alfred Pennyworth, the Riddler began his criminal career in Gotham, during the years it was controlled by Thomas Wayne, Carmine Falcone and Hamilton Hill. He would terrorize the city for some time, which lead to the trio giving him his own berth to operate out of. However, during the midst of his criminal career, he disappeared so suddenly that many people believed he had died. It is unknown what really happened to the Riddler after his disappearance, but he made his presence known when he broke the inmates out of Pena Duro Penitentiary on Santa Prisca, murdering the warden in the process. After this, he gained the attention of the Agency and its current director, Amanda Waller. Later he was almost captured by them while in Sudan, but managed to escape. The Riddler was also approached to join the pact, a group of criminals assembled by an unknown source. Because of this, he returned to Gotham and learnt of the vigilante Batman and his war on crime. Against the wishes of the Pact, the Riddler decided to attract Batman's attention and make his return to Gotham known to the authorities and civilians. For his, he decided to attract Waller's attention and draw a number of the Agency's operatives to Gotham, targeting and killing the ones they sent. This lead to him being kicked out of the pact, which gave him the incentive to go through with his operations and prove his worth to the group. Riddler's made his plan to target specific agents by hacking their phones with long ranged signal, which would, when detected, attract radio-wave guided homing missiles, fired by a launcher. To achieve this, he worked with Arms Dealer Rumi Mori on a deal to retrieve radio-wave guided homing missiles, but the latter bowed out after learning Riddler's plans. In retribution, the Riddler set up plans to murder Mori and retrieve more missiles. He also began putting his own criminal organization together, consisting of some of the more intelligent criminals he could find. One such was Eli Knable, who became his second in command. The Enigma Approximately a year after the Children of Arkham's defeat, Riddler and his men confronted Mori within his own casino, the Virago. When a security guard tried to escort him out, he murdered the guard and locked down the casino. After taking hostages, the Riddler then place Mori in one of his death traps and promised to let him out, if he successfully solved a riddle. During the commotion, Batman appeared and incapacitated a number of his men, including Knable. As Riddler held Batman at knifepoint with his cane, the vigilante ordered Commissioner Gordon to raid the casino. Stunned at this turn of events, Riddler fought with Batman, but was easily overpowered by the vigilante. Deciding to make his escape, he activated the death trap to murder Mori, hoping it would distract Batman long enough for him to escape. However, the vigilante was able to disable the trap and confronted Riddler on top of the Virago's statue. Stunned on why he had saved Mori from certain death, Riddler was once again defeated by Batman. After detonating a bomb to open his escape, Riddler then left Batman a puzzle box. Threatening to kill others including Mori unless Batman was able to solve the puzzle, he destroyed the statue's supports and made his escape. Batman would be able to solve Riddler's box, but only found a signal emitter inside. Due to the Batcave having a scrambler installed, the missile was unable to fire and locate the Batcave. After taking it to Wayne Enterprises to look at it closely, the signal was allowed to play long enough to send a detonation order, resulting in the partial damage of Wayne Tower and the death of Lucius Fox. During the next week, Riddler created another death trap within the East End, hoping that it could murder one of his targets. After kidnapping Special Agent Mario Fernandez, he took him to the trap he had set up and forced him to solve it, promising a hint to what he was planning for the Agency. Fernandez was unsuccessful and was killed by the ultra-sonic emitter. Batman and Gordon would later discover the trap, thanks to a tip the vigilante had received from one of his contacts. Using evidence they were able to find, pointing to Fernandez's mistakes, Batman and Gordon were able to solve the puzzle, finding one of the homing missiles bought by the Riddler. The criminal then appeared on screen, revealing his past with the Agency and claiming their responsibility for his condition. During this, Riddler also mocked Batman for not telling Gordon about his connection to the rocket being fired at Wayne Enterprises, knowing he had a connection to Lucius Fox. Later that night, Riddler retreated to his personal barge, the Lady of Dublin, along with his men. He was also able to locate and kidnap four of the Agency's agents, including Iman Avesta and Vernon Blake, placing them within death traps. As he and his men prepared to murder the agents around Gotham, Batman arrived, having retrieved a location from either a deal with Mori or interrogating Knable. As he defeated the Riddler's goons, he made an attempt to knock out the criminal with his Bat-Stunner. However, the criminal had prepared for this, as he was wearing protective materials under his suit. As Batman released Avesta from her trap, the Riddler activated a trap to hold Batman. He then revealed himself to be conscious and showed the vigilante where the missile launcher had been hidden. With the vigilante now in his grasp, the Riddler threatened to murder the other hostages, unless Batman solved three simple riddles. However, in solving these, he and Avesta would be blasted by the sonic devices he had set up in their cage, which could kill her within those three blasts. Depending on Batman's decisions, two possibilities will happen. Comply with Riddler=Batman complies with the Riddler's plan, solving the riddles and allowing himself and Avesta to be blasted with the ultrasonic blasts for the agents' lives. However, during the final riddle, Batman instead uses a drone provided by Tiffany Fox emit the signal, directing one of the missiles towards the cage. Furious at the turn of events, Riddler fires the rest of the missiles to kill the other agents, but these are directed by the drone into Gotham's river, where they can detonate without harming anyone. Batman then defeats the criminal and places him in bonds. Though he admits defeat, the Riddler mocks the vigilante for having harmed Avesta and rendered her deaf to save the other hostages, commenting that his "friends" would have been proud. |-|Refuse or get the answer wrong=Batman refuses to answer one of or both of the riddles, leading Riddler to murder one or both of the agents. He will also kill the agent if Batman gets one of the riddles wrong. During the final riddle, Batman uses a drone provided by Tiffany Fox emit the signal, directing one of the missiles towards the cage. Furious at these turn of events, Riddler fires the rest of the missiles to kill the other agents, but these are directed into Gotham's river by the drone, where they can detonate without harming anyone. Batman then defeats the criminal and places him in bonds. However, the Riddler considered it a victory, having made Batman kill the agents, even if it was indirectly, and break his rules. The Riddler revealed that he had set the plan up to draw the Pact's attention and show them how he had been a worthwhile addition to the group. Realizing that one of their former comrades may have set him up, Riddler was shot by a poisoned dart from a mysterious man. As he died, Riddler mentioned how they had "broken the pact", causing Batman to realize that "John Doe" and "his friends" had been involved. Legacy The Agency would place the blame on the GCPD for Riddler's death and later take his corpse into possession. Hoping to investigate what had kept him in physical condition despite his age, they placed it into a cryogenic unit to preserve it and transferred out of the city. After learning of Riddler's death, the Pact put together a plan to retrieve his corpse, so that they could access the secret location of SANCTUS' lab and Project Lotis. After they retrieved a Phalanx Key and EMP generator from Wayne Enterprises, they attacked the convoy set to escort him and collected his body. With assistance from Catwoman, they would duplicate his eyes to fool the retinal scanner and access the files. It is unknown what happened to Riddler's body, but it's likely that the remaining members of the Pact either discarded or buried it. Personality Despite his high intelligence, the Riddler was brash and arrogant, taking pleasure in beating his opponents and believing himself to be superior to his victims and pursuers. Riddler also seemed to be sadistic, taking pleasure in seeing his victims either scared or be gruesomely injured. Riddler would also leave elaborate clues and puzzles behind at his crimes, believing that the people who would not be able to solve them, something which he was proven wrong on many occasions. He was also willing kill civilians or put them at risk, as seen when he ordered one of his men to execute a hostage to distract Batman. Equipment Costume Riddler's costume consisted of a dark green suit jacket, a purple shirt, a green tie, dark green trousers and a pair of black leather shoes. To hide his identity, he would also wear a green domino mask and a hood, the latter of which seems to been sown to his suit jacket. Riddler also wore a golden question mark on his left lapel and black gloves, to prevent him from leaving evidence that could lead to the authorities learning his identity. It is unclear how much protection he wore, but it is known that he had equipped a device that neutralized Batman's Bat-Stunners during their final confrontation. Cane Riddler would wield a golden-topped black cane during his crimes, which he used as both a weapon and a tool during his crimes. The top of this cane was stylized as a question mark, though the inside of it was sharp enough to cut human flesh. Riddler would use this as a method of execution of his victims and within combat with his opponents, using the hooked edge to grab at his enemies and objects to use in combat. The hook could also act as a grappling hook, with a button to detach and fire it at specific objects. This also came with a pulley system to pull the Riddler towards his target. The cane also had a multitude of different buttons on it, which could act as transmitters to activate or operate devices and contraptions, such as explosives and his death traps. Riddle Boxes The Riddler would often leave these boxes at his crimes, believing that his pursuers would not be able to solve them. These would often consist of elaborate puzzles, including riddles and methods to reshape them, and clues to his plans. Riddler would also place advanced circuitry within them for the purpose of challenging his opponents, such as one where the person had to manipulate waveforms to access their next clue. Death Traps The Riddler would use death traps (or "murder boxes", as Batman and Gordon referred to them) to either taught his victims or challenge his opponents. These would consist of many different machines or devices, including controllable saw blades, sonic blasters and a multitude of different devices, most of which he made himself. One such was used on Rumi Mori, where he was trapped within a small glass chamber and his fingers were removed for each time he got the solution to a riddle wrong. Another trap, set for Batman, forced the vigilante to solve a puzzle whilst coping with a sonic blast if he got a riddle right, or killing an Agency agent if he refused or got it wrong. Relationships Allies *Selina Kyle/Catwoman - Friend and Occasional Employee. *Eli Knable - "Loyal" Right-Hand Man *The Pact - Former Friends and Business Partners turned Apparent Traitors. **John Doe **Bane **Dr. Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn **Dr. Victor Fries/Mr. Freeze Enemies *Batman - Rival *Rumi Mori - Former Business Partner turned Bitter Enemy and Torturee. *Gotham City Police Department **James Gordon **Renee Montoya *The Agency - Former Employers **Amanda Waller **Iman Avesta - Victim, Determined **Vernon Blake - Victim, Determined Dialogue The Enigma * Stop me if you've heard this one before. I begin and have no end. And I end all that begins. Who am I? * Death, Mori. I am death. * For you... an easy one. What question can you never answer "yes" to? * Augh. Wrong. The correct answer is, "are you dead?" * Now. Let's get started. * Our issues can't be solved with handshakes, Mori. This is what happens when you back out of a deal with me. There's only one way you're getting out of this alive. You have to solve a riddle. And I'd choose my words carefully if I were you. Listen closely. '' * ''Without fingers, I point, without arms, I strike, without feet.... I run. Who am I? * I'm losing patience, Mori. Are you expecting a hint? Give. Me. An answer! * No. I don't believe that's it. '' * ''Batman! You're ahead of schedule. I'm a little busy right now, but I'll see if I can fit you in. * Not him, the hostage! Shoot the hostage! * The Batman clearly isn't using his head. Break it open. '' * ''I've heard stories in the streets about you, Batman. You're the biggest name in Gotham since... well, since I left town. Everyone's very impressed with you. I'm not impressed. '' * ''Gotham's criminals have become zealots and thugs in cheap suits. And you... I've come home to find a wannabe in my chair. Eating my goddamn porridge. This is MY city! Now I'm back. And I'm taking what's mine. * Says the man with a hook at his throat. * You're supposedly the world's greatest detective. Yet here you are, completely at my mercy. I don't see much evidence of that. * Oh, you have to be kidding.... * Clever.... But not smart enough! * Let me show you. How it was done. Back in the day! * Brawling like a common street hood.... It just doesn't do it for me. * You broke the cage. That's cheating! * I'd heard you were a man who followed a code. Why would you save that dirtbag's life? Mori made his money running guns. Trading off the suffering of war. '' * ''Your naivete is just embarrassing. "''I save people." Haha. You should concentrate on saving yourself. '' * Enough of this! Agh! '' * ''You know how to scrap, I'll give you that. But it's not enough. Let's see how you do with something a little more... cerebral. Better hurry, Detective. Solve my puzzle soon... or people are gonna get hurt. And we know you can't let that happen. Trivia *While maintaining certain details seen with past incarnations (such as his high intelligence and ego), this incarnation of The Riddler is much older than previous incarnations (and even Batman), and is a very deadly, serious threat (being recognized as "Gotham's first supervillain"). Category:Criminals Category:Antagonists Category:Characters Category:Deceased Category:The Pact Category:Season 2 Characters Category:Villains Category:Male Villains